National Music Week, May 2-6, 2022, provides an opportunity for USD 231 to say how incredibly proud we are of the music programs (and instructors) in our schools! Their brilliance and talent are on display every day and our students are the benefactors!
How Did National Music Week Begin?
National Music Week was first observed in 1924, with 452 cities and towns participating. Before that there had been sporadic observances — a Music Day in Dallas, Texas, in 1919; a Music Week in New York in 1920, with the late Otto Kahn as Chairman and such outstanding musical figures as Arthur Bodansky, a conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, and Dr. Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra, serving on the committee. The Federation’s connection with Music Week began at that time. Mrs. Julian Edwards, then president of the New York Federation of Music Clubs served on the committee, and Mrs. John F Lyons, then president of National Federation of Music clubs, served on the first National Music Week Committee in 1924.
Charles M. Tremaine, the catalyst who noted all these sporadic observances, and who first conceived the idea of a National Music Week, wrought his dream into reality. He was head of the National Bureau for the Advancement of Music. From 1924 to 1947 he formulated the program, carried on the executive work, and made music Week internationally famous.
May 4-10, 1924, Charles M. Tremaine guided the first synchronized celebration of National Music Week. Otto H. Kahn, patron of the arts and for many years Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Opera Company, was the first National Chairman.
Since 1924, when President Calvin Coolidge served as the first Honorary Chairman, each of our nation’s Chief Executives has given his moral support to this annual observance.
Additional information on the history of National Music Week may be obtained in the book “National Music Week” by Charles M. Tremaine. - National Federation of Music Clubs
Activities that Led to the First National Music Week in 1924:
| 1915 | National Week of Song |
| 1917 | First public mention of Music Week in Music Trades Review |
| 1919 | First City observance, Boise, Idaho |
| 1919 | St. Louis Music Week |
| 1919 | DeForest Music Week, Sharon, PA |
| 1919 | Dallas Music Day |
| 1919 | Music Week, Navasota, TX |
| 1920 | Music Week, New York |
| 1923 | First National Observance |
| 1924 | First synchronized National Music Week |
| 1947-57 | Sponsored by the National Recreation Association |
| 1958 | Sponsored by the NFMC and American Music Conference |
| 1959 | Sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs |